The Veteran's claim for a higher rating for his service-connected osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine is remanded due to an incomplete VA examination.
The deciding factor: The VA examiner did not provide an estimate of additional limitation of range of motion due to flare-ups, as required in Sharp v. Shulkin (2017).
- Claimed conditions
- osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- August 15, 2023
- Citation
- 23045314
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 23045314.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for service connection for osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine was granted with an effective date set at May 2, 2019.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to inadequate reasons or bases for denying an increased evaluation for the Veteran's service-connected low back disability. The Court found that the Board failed to address evidence indicating additional functional loss and disregarded the Veteran's statements about pain and movement limitations.
- Denied
The Board denied a higher rating for the Veteran's lumbosacral strain with osteoarthritis of the thoracic spine, finding that his disability did not meet or more nearly approximate the criteria for a rating in excess of 20 percent.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for a thoracic spine disability, finding that the Veteran's current condition is not related to his active service and does not meet the criteria for direct service connection.
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